Information processing apparatus, suspect information generation method and program

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus includes an input, a blood-relative list generator, a similar image searcher, and a suspect information generator. The input receives DNA information of a suspect and facial image relating to a plurality of facial images. The blood relative list generator generates a list of blood relatives who are presumed to be blood relatives of the suspect from a plurality of pieces of DNA information. The similar image searcher calculates degree of similarity between facial images of persons on the blood-relative list and each of the plurality of facial images, and searches for and retrieves a facial image resembling the image of the person on the blood-relative list based on the calculated degree of similarity. The suspect information generation part generates suspect information by associating information relating to the retrieved facial image with information relating to the person on the blood-relative list who resembles the retrieved facial image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/079,796 filed on Aug. 24, 2018, which is aNational Stage Entry of international application PCT/JP2017/007201filed on Feb. 24, 2017, which claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application 2016-035861 filed on Feb. 26, 2016, thedisclosures of all of which are incorporated in their entirety byreference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus,suspect information generation method and program, and particularly toan information processing apparatus, suspect information generationmethod and program dealing with information used in a criminalinvestigation.

BACKGROUND

In a criminal investigation, it is common to obtain DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid) information of a criminal from a bloodstain leftat a crime scene and use it to identify the criminal (for instance referto Patent Literature 1). Further, the United Kingdom has a database ofDNA information of criminals and utilizes it with the DNA informationobtained in a criminal investigation, like the one described above, toidentify the offender.

Furthermore, in recent years, video data captured by security cameras isutilized in criminal investigations. The documents below describecomponent technologies related to image processing. Patent Literature 2discloses a technology that extracts a facial image from an input image.Further, Patent Literature 3 discloses a technology that extractscharacteristics from an image.

[Patent Literature 1]

-   Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-A-H10-115616    [Patent Literature 2]-   Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P2014-170979A    [Patent Literature 3]-   Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P2015-097000A

SUMMARY

The following analysis is given from a viewpoint of the presentinvention. Note that the disclosure of each Patent Literature citedabove is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto.

A criminal investigation using the database described above is effectivewhen the offender is a person with a criminal record (i.e., recidivist)registered in the database, however, information useful for identifyingthe offender cannot obtained when he or she is a first offender.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an informationprocessing apparatus, suspect information generation method, and programthat contribute to providing information for facilitating a criminalinvestigation.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is providedan information processing apparatus including an input part thatreceives DNA information of a suspect and facial image informationincluding information relating to a plurality of facial images; ablood-relative list generation part that identifies DNA information of aperson presumed to be a blood relative of the suspect among a pluralityof pieces of DNA information registered in a database and generates alist of blood relatives comprising persons who are presumed to be bloodrelatives of the suspect using the identified DNA information; a similarimage search part that calculates degree of similarity between facialimages of the persons on the blood-relative list and each of theplurality of facial images included in the facial image information andsearches for and retrieves a facial image resembling the facial image ofthe person on the blood-relative list from the plurality of facialimages included in the facial image information on the basis of thecalculated degree of similarity; and a suspect information generationpart that generates suspect information by associating informationrelating to the retrieved facial image with information relating to theperson on the blood-relative list who resembles the retrieved facialimage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda suspect information generation method including receiving DNAinformation of a suspect and facial image information includinginformation relating to a plurality of facial images; identifying DNAinformation of a person presumed to be a blood relative of the suspectamong a plurality of pieces of DNA information registered in a databaseand generating a list of blood relatives comprising persons who arepresumed to be blood relatives of the suspect using the identified DNAinformation; calculating degree of similarity between facial images ofthe persons on the blood-relative list and each of the plurality offacial images included in the facial image information and searching forand retrieving a facial image resembling the facial image of the personon the blood-relative list from the plurality of facial images includedin the facial image information on the basis of the calculated degree ofsimilarity; and generating suspect information by associatinginformation relating to the retrieved facial image with informationrelating to the person on the blood-relative list who resembles theretrieved facial image.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda program having a computer execute a process of receiving DNAinformation of a suspect and facial image information includinginformation relating to a plurality of facial images; a process ofidentifying DNA information of a person presumed to be a blood relativeof the suspect among a plurality of pieces of DNA information registeredin a database and generating a list of blood relatives comprisingpersons who are presumed to be blood relatives of the suspect using theidentified DNA information; a process of calculating degree ofsimilarity between facial images of the persons on the blood-relativelist and each of the plurality of facial images included in the facialimage information and searching for and retrieving a facial imageresembling the facial image of the person on the blood-relative listfrom the plurality of facial images included in the facial imageinformation on the basis of the calculated degree of similarity; and aprocess of generating suspect information by associating informationrelating to the retrieved facial image with information relating to theperson on the blood-relative list who resembles the retrieved facialimage.

Further, this program can be stored in a computer-readable storagemedium. The storage medium may be a non-transient one such as asemiconductor memory, hard disk, magnetic storage medium, and opticalstorage medium. The present invention can be realized as a computerprogram product.

According to each aspect of the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus, suspect information generation method,and program that contribute to providing information for facilitating acriminal investigation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining a summary of an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a configuration example of a suspectinformation output system relating to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a drawing showing an example of suspect DNA information.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing an example of facial image information.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing an example of information stored in a DNAdatabase relating to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardwareconfiguration of an information processing apparatus relating to thefirst exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the processingconfiguration of the information processing apparatus relating to thefirst exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of ablood-relative list generation part.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are drawings showing examples of DNA information.

FIG. 10 is a drawing for explaining the operation of the blood-relativelist generation part.

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing an example of a blood-relative list.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a similarimage search part.

FIG. 13 is a drawing in which feature vectors calculated from facialimages in the facial image information are reflected in the facial imageinformation shown in FIG. 4 .

FIG. 14 is a drawing showing an example of a blood-relative list inwhich the results of similarity judgment by the similar image searchpart are reflected.

FIG. 15 is a drawing showing an example of suspect information.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of theinformation processing apparatus relating to the first exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 17 is a drawing for explaining the narrowing-down of bloodrelatives using DNA.

PREFERRED MODES

First, a summary of an exemplary embodiment will be given. Note thatdrawing reference signs in the summary are given to each element as anexample solely to facilitate understanding for convenience, and thedescription in the summary is not intended to limit the presentinvention in any way.

An information processing apparatus 100 relating to an exemplaryembodiment comprises an input part 101, a blood-relative list generationpart 102, a similar image search part 103, and a suspect informationgeneration part 104 (refer to FIG. 1 ). The input part 101 receives DNAinformation of a suspect and facial image information includinginformation relating to a plurality of facial images. The blood-relativelist generation part 102 identifies DNA information of a person presumedto be a blood relative of the suspect among a plurality of pieces of DNAinformation registered in a database and generates a list of bloodrelatives comprising persons who are presumed to be blood relatives ofthe suspect using the identified DNA information. The similar imagesearch part 103 calculates degree of similarity between facial images ofthe persons on the blood-relative list and each of the plurality offacial images included in the facial image information, and searches forand retrieves a facial image resembling the facial image of the personon the blood-relative list from the plurality of facial images includedin the facial image information on the basis of the calculated degree ofsimilarity. The suspect information generation part 104 generatessuspect information by associating information relating to the retrievedfacial image with information relating to the person on theblood-relative list who resembles the retrieved facial image.

The information processing apparatus 100 treats a person correspondingto DNA information obtained by analyzing a bloodstain, etc., left at acrime scene as a suspect. The information processing apparatus 100searches for and identifies DNA information of a person presumed to be ablood relative of the suspect among the DNA information stored in thedatabase. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 treatsfacial image information as information that includes a facial image ofthe offender in a plurality of facial images obtained from securitycameras installed at and around the crime scene, and searches for afacial image of the suspect through the plurality of facial images. Moreconcretely, the information processing apparatus 100 searches for a faceresembling the face of a person identified on the blood-relative listthrough the plurality of facial images, deems the person of theretrieved facial image to be a suspect, and outputs his or her relatedinformation (for instance the facial image of the suspect and the namesof his or her blood relatives).

As described, the information processing apparatus 100 narrows downpersons having a blood relationship with the suspect using DNAinformation having excellent personal identification capability. Next,assuming that faces of blood relatives resemble each other, theinformation processing apparatus 100 narrows down persons having facesresembling that of the suspect from persons who were at and around thecrime scene. By performing these two stages of narrowing down, theinformation processing apparatus 100 is able to provide theinvestigative authority with a facial image of the suspect andinformation of blood relatives of the suspect from a plurality of facialimages obtained from security cameras at and around the crime scene. Inother words, since a person likely to have committed a crime is selectedfrom persons who were at and around the crime scene, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 is able to contribute to a criminalinvestigation in terms of narrowing down suspects on the basis of DNAinformation of the offender left at the crime scene.

A concrete exemplary embodiment will be described in more detail withreference to the drawings below. It should be noted that the same signswill be given to the same elements in each exemplary embodiment, and theexplanation will be omitted.

Exemplary Embodiment 1

A first exemplary embodiment will be described in detail with referenceto the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a configuration example of a suspectinformation output system relating to the first exemplary embodiment. InFIG. 2 , the suspect information output system includes an informationprocessing apparatus 10 and a DNA database 20. The informationprocessing apparatus 10 and the DNA database 20 are connected via anetwork (not shown in the drawing).

The information processing apparatus 10 receives suspect DNA informationand facial image information. The information processing apparatus 10generates and outputs suspect information on the basis of these piecesof information and information obtained by accessing the DNA database20.

The suspect DNA information includes DNA information obtained from DNAanalysis of a sample left at a crime scene such as a bloodstain. The DNAinformation is information that includes the number of STRs (ShortTandem Repeats) in a microsatellite used for personal identification.For instance, the suspect DNA information includes DNA information inwhich an ID of a sample (Identifier; referred to as “sample ID”hereinafter) taken at the crime scene, the loci of microsatellites (forinstance vWA), and the number of repeats are associated (refer to FIG. 3).

The facial image information is information generated from data recordedby video equipment such as security cameras installed at and around thecrime scene. For instance, the investigative authority such as thepolice obtains video data recorded by security cameras installed at andaround the crime scene. Then the investigative authority (investigator)extracts facial images of persons in the video data. The investigatorsgenerates the facial image information by associating the extractedfacial images with information relating to these facial images.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing an example of the facial image information.In FIG. 4 , for instance, the facial image information is generated insuch a way that an ID identifying an extracted facial image (referred toas “facial image ID” hereinafter) and the actual file (extracted facialimage) are associated with information regarding the location where theperson in the extracted facial image was shot (the location of thecamera) and date and time in an entry.

Various technologies can be used when facial images are extracted fromvideo data.

For instance, as disclosed in Patent Literature 2, a facial image may beextracted by comparing an input image (video data including a facialimage) and a template image of a facial image and seeing whether or notthe difference between them is equal to or less than a threshold value.A facial image can also be extracted by having a model combining colorinformation and the directions and densities of edges stored in advanceand determining that a face exists when a region similar to the model isdetected from an input frame. It is also possible to detect a facialimage by using a template created by taking advantage of the fact thatthe outline of a face (head) is an ellipse and the eyes and the mouthare rectangular shaped. Further, a face detection method utilizing theluminance distribution characteristics in which the cheeks and foreheadare high in brightness and the eyes and the mouth are low, or a methodthat detects a face by utilizing facial symmetry and skin-color regionand position may be used. Alternatively, a method in which featuredistributions obtained from a large amount of face and non-face learningsamples are statistically learned and whether the feature value obtainedfrom an input image belongs to the face or non-face distribution isdetermined may be used. In other words, a technology relating to machinelearning such as a support vector machine may be used to detect a facialimage.

The investigators generate the facial image information using a computercapable of the facial image extraction processing described above. Itshould be noted that the source of the facial images included in thefacial image information is not limited to video data; a facial imagemay be extracted from image data such as a photograph and registered inthe facial image information.

The DNA database 20 is an apparatus that stores DNA information of alarge amount of people including people with a criminal record (referredto as “registered DNA information” hereinafter) and personalidentification information such as facial images while associating onewith the other. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 , the DNA database20 associates the personal identification information with theregistered DNA information and stores these pieces of data. The personalidentification information is information used for personalidentification such as facial image (photographic portrait), full name,birth date, blood type, ethnicity, skin color, and eye color. Theregistered DNA information is information that associates the loci ofmicrosatellites (for instance vWA) and the number of STRs (for instance16, 18). Further, the DNA database 20 may include criminal databasesalready used in other countries. The information registered in the DNAdatabase 20 will be referred to as “registered information” and an IDidentifying each piece of the registered information will be referred toas “registration ID” hereinafter.

The information processing apparatus 10 is an apparatus that generatesand outputs suspect information on the basis of the suspect DNAinformation, the facial image information, and the registeredinformation stored in the DNA database 20.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardwareconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 10 relating to thefirst exemplary embodiment. The information processing apparatus 10 is acomputer that comprises the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6 . Forinstance, the information processing apparatus 10 comprises a CPU(Central Processing Unit) 11, a memory 12, an input/output interface 13,and an NIC (Network Interface Card) 14, all connected to each other byan internal bus. The information processing apparatus 10 communicateswith the DNA database 20, etc., via the NIC 14. Note that the hardwareconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 10 is not limitedby the configuration shown in FIG. 6 . The information processingapparatus 10 may include hardware not shown in the drawing.

The memory 12 is a RAM (Random-Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory),or HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

The input/output interface 13 serves as an interface for an input/outputapparatus not shown in the drawing. For instance, examples of theinput/output apparatus include a display device, operation device,external storage device, and printing device. An example of the displaydevice is a liquid crystal display. Examples of the operation device area keyboard and mouse. An example of the external storage device includesa USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the processingconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 10 relating to thefirst exemplary embodiment. In FIG. 7 , the information processingapparatus 10 includes an input part 201, a DNA information processingpart 202, and an output part 203. For instance, each of these processingmodule is realized by having the CPU 11 execute a program stored in thememory 12. Further, the program can be downloaded via a network orupdated using a storage medium storing the program. These processingmodules may be realized by a semiconductor chip. In other words,functions performed by these processing modules may be realized by somekind of hardware and/or software.

The input part 201 receives the suspect DNA information and the facialimage information described above. For instance, the input part 201accesses the external storage device storing the suspect DNA informationand the facial image information via the input/output interface 13 andobtains these pieces of information. Alternatively, the input part 201may obtain the information by accessing a server in a network via theNIC 14. The input part 201 hands over the received suspect DNAinformation and facial image information to the DNA informationprocessing part 202.

The DNA information processing part 202 generates suspect information onthe basis of the suspect DNA information described above. The DNAinformation processing part 202 includes a DNA information comparisonpart 211, a blood-relative list generation part 212, a similar imagesearch part 213, and a suspect information generation part 214.

After acquiring the suspect DNA information and the facial imageinformation from the input part 201, the DNA information processing part202 accesses the DNA database 20 via the NIC 14 and obtains the“registered information” stored in the database. The DNA informationprocessing part 202 starts the DNA information comparison part 211 afterhaving obtained the registered information.

The DNA information comparison part 211 compares the suspect DNAinformation obtained from the input part 201 and the registered DNAinformation obtained from the DNA database 20. When an entry in theregistered DNA information matching the suspect DNA information is foundin the DNA database 20 as a result of the comparison, the DNAinformation comparison part 211 tells the suspect information generationpart 214 that the person corresponding to this entry in the registeredDNA information is a suspect and notifies the suspect informationgeneration part 214 of the personal identification information of theperson in question. In other words, when an entry in the registered DNAinformation in the DNA database 20 matches the suspect DNA information,the suspect information generation part 214 is notified that informationrelating to a suspect is registered in the DNA database 20.

When nothing in the registered DNA information matches the suspect DNAinformation as a result of comparing the suspect DNA information and theregistered DNA information, the DNA information processing part 202generates suspect information using mainly the blood-relative listgeneration part 212 and the similar image search part 213.

The blood-relative list generation part 212 identifies DNA informationof a person presumed to be a blood relative of a suspect among aplurality of pieces of the registered DNA information registered in theDNA database 20, and generates a list of blood relatives comprisingpersons who are presumed to be blood relatives of the suspect using theidentified DNA information. Specifically, the blood-relative listgeneration part 212 determines if the loci of microsatellites includedin the suspect DNA information match the corresponding loci in the DNAinformation registered in the DNA database 20, and identifies DNAinformation of a person presumed to be a blood relative of the suspectaccording to the ratio of loci determined to match the correspondingloci to the total number of loci on which the matching judgment wasperformed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of theblood-relative list generation part 212. The operation of theblood-relative list generation part 212 will be described with referenceto FIG. 8 .

In step S101, the blood-relative list generation part 212 selects anentry from a plurality of entries in the registered information obtainedfrom the DNA database 20 (selects a piece of the registered DNAinformation).

In step S102, the blood-relative list generation part 212 see if theloci of the selected entry in the registered DNA information match theloci of the corresponding suspect DNA information. For instance, let'sassume that the selected entry in the registered DNA information is asshown in FIG. 9A and the suspect DNA information FIG. 9B. In this case,as far as the locus vWA is concerned, a repeat number of the locus vWAin the registered DNA information matches a repeat number of the locusvWA in the suspect DNA information (they both have the repeat number16). As a result, the blood-relative list generation part 212 determinesthat the locus vWA in the registered DNA information matches another inthe suspect DNA information. On the other hand, as far as the locus FGAis concerned, the repeat numbers of the locus FGA in the registered DNAinformation and the suspect DNA information do not match with eachother. Therefore, the blood-relative list generation part 212 determinesthat the locus FGA in the registered DNA information does not matchanother in the suspect DNA information. As described, the blood-relativelist generation part 212 determines whether or not either one of the tworepeat numbers of each locus of a microsatellite included in the suspectDNA information matches either one of the two repeat numbers of thecorresponding locus in the registered DNA information.

The blood-relative list generation part 212 repeats the matchingjudgment processing described above on the loci included in the selectedentry of the registered DNA information and comes up with judgmentresults shown in FIG. 10 .

In step S103, the blood-relative list generation part 212 determineswhether or not the person corresponding to the selected entry in theregistered DNA information is a blood relative of the personcorresponding to the suspect DNA information on the basis of thejudgment results in the previous step. Specifically, the blood-relativelist generation part 212 determines if the person in question is a bloodrelative according to the ratio of loci determined to match to the totalof the loci included in the registered DNA information. For instance,when nearly all loci in the registered DNA information (for instance 95percent or more) are determined to match, the blood-relative listgeneration part 212 presumes that the person corresponding to thisregistered DNA information is a “parent” or “offspring” of the personcorresponding to the suspect DNA information. Further, when about halfor more loci in the registered DNA information (for instance 45 percentor more but less than 95 percent) are determined to match, theblood-relative list generation part 212 presumes that the personcorresponding to this registered DNA information is a “grandparent,”“sibling,” or “grandchild” of the person corresponding to the suspectDNA information. In other words, by performing threshold processing onthe matching judgment results of the registered DNA information, theblood-relative list generation part 212 determines whether or not theperson corresponding to this DNA information is a blood relative of theperson corresponding to the suspect DNA information and infers therelationship between the two (the registered person in the DNA database20 and the suspect).

In steps S104, the blood-relative list generation part 212 determineswhether or not all entries in the registered information obtained fromthe DNA database 20 have been selected. If all entries have not beenselected, the blood-relative list generation part 212 repeats theprocessing of the step S101 and the subsequent steps. If all entrieshave been selected, the blood-relative list generation part 212 executesthe processing of step S105.

In the step S105, the blood-relative list generation part 212 organizesthe results of the judgments and presumptions regarding blood relativesin the step S103, generates a blood-relative list, and hands the listover to the similar image search part 213. For instance, theblood-relative list generation part 212 generates a blood-relative listas shown in FIG. 11 and gives the list to the similar image search part213.

The similar image search part 213 searches for a facial image resemblinga facial image of a person identified by the blood-relative list througha plurality of facial images included in the facial image information.Specifically, the similar image search part 213 calculates the degree ofsimilarity between the facial image of a person on the blood-relativelist and each of the plurality of facial images included in the facialimage information, and searches for a facial image resembling the facialimage of the person on the blood-relative list from the plurality offacial images included in the facial image information on the basis ofthe calculated degree of similarity.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of thesimilar image search part 213. The operation of the similar image searchpart 213 will be described with reference to FIG. 12 .

In step S201, the similar image search part 213 calculates a featurevector from each facial image of the facial image information. Regardingthe feature vector calculation from the facial images, for instance, asdisclosed in Patent Literature 3, feature points (such as the centerpoints and end points of the eyes, nose, and mouth) are extracted fromthe facial images, the positional relationships among the extractedfeature points and the gray values and characteristics (periodicity,directionality, color distribution, etc.) around the feature points arecalculated as feature values, and these feature values can be arranged(sets of the feather values are created) as a feature vector. Here,different facial images as the sources of the feature vector calculationproduce different feature vectors. In other words, the same facialimages as the sources of the feature vector calculation produceidentical or nearly identical feature vectors. The feature vectorcalculated from a facial image of the facial image information will bereferred to as the first feature vector hereinafter.

Further, as described later, similarities between the first featurevector and another feature vector (referred to as the second featurevector hereinafter) calculated from facial images registered in the DNAdatabase 20 are determined. At that time, it is assumed that the facialimages registered in the DNA database 20 are shot in fairly similarconditions (the distance between the camera and the face and the face'sangle and direction towards the camera). More specifically, it isassumed that data of frontal facial images shot at a predetermineddistance is registered in the DNA database 20. On the other hand, thefacial images included in the facial image information were extractedfrom video data shot by security cameras. Therefore, it is assumed thatthese facial images were not shot from the front and that the distancesbetween the persons and the cameras vary. In this case, the featurevectors calculated from these two databases may end up being differenteven if a facial image in the facial image information and a facialimage in the DNA database 20 are of the same person. Therefore, it isdesired that the first feature vector be calculated after geometricallyconverting the facial images of the facial image information (forinstance, rotating the image so that the face faces the front orenlarging/reducing the size of the image so that the face is of apredetermined size).

Information shown in FIG. 13 can be obtained by associating the firstfeature vector calculated by the similar image search part 213 with thefacial image information shown in FIG. 4 .

Further, the order of the feature vector (the number of feature valuescalculated) can be freely set according to the accuracy of thesimilarity judgment and the processing amount (calculation amount)described later. Normally, tens to hundreds of feature values arecalculated from a single facial image.

In step S202, the similar image search part 213 selects an entry of theregistered information that is included in the obtained blood-relativelist.

In step S203, the similar image search part 213 calculates the secondfeature vector from the facial image included in the selected entry ofthe registered information. At this time, the similar image search part213 calculates a feature vector having the same elements (the same kindsof feature values) and the same dimension as the first feature vector.

In step S204, the similar image search part 213 calculates the degree ofsimilarity between each of the first feature vectors calculated from thefacial images of the facial image information and the second featurevector calculated from the registered information. For instance, thesimilar image search part 213 calculates the chi-squared distance or theEuclidean distance between the two feature vectors. The calculatedchi-squared distance or the Euclidean distance serves as an indexindicating the degree of similarity between the two feature vectors (twofacial images characterized by the feature vectors). It should be notedthat the index indicating the degree of similarity between the twofeature vectors is not limited to the Euclidean distance or chi-squareddistance; the index may be a correlation value between the two featurevectors.

In step S205, the similar image search part 213 searches for a facialimage resembling the facial image included in the registered information(the registered information of the blood-relative list) selected in thestep S202 through the plurality of facial images included in the facialimage information on the basis of the degree of similarity calculated inthe step S204. More specifically, through the plurality of facial imagesin the facial image information, the similar image search part 213searches for a facial image having a degree of similarity higher than apredetermined criterion. For instance, in a case where the Euclideandistance or chi-squared distance is used as the indicator of similarity,a facial image included in the facial image information having a value(Euclidean distance or chi-squared distance) less than a predeterminedthreshold value is determined to resemble the person identified by theblood-relative list and is extracted (retrieved).

In step S206, the similar image search part 213 determines whether ornot all entries of the registered information included in theblood-relative list have been selected. If all entries have not beenselected, the similar image search part 213 repeats the processing ofthe step S202 and the subsequent steps. If all entries have beenselected, the similar image search part 213 executes the processing ofstep S207.

In step S207, the similar image search part 213 has the search resultsin the step S205 reflected in the blood-relative list. For instance, thesimilar image search part 213 obtains information shown in FIG. 14 byhaving the results in the step S205 reflected in the blood-relative listshown in FIG. 11 .

In step S208, the similar image search part 213 outputs theblood-relative list that incorporates the results of searching forsimilar facial images to the suspect information generation part 214.

The suspect information generation part 214 generates suspectinformation.

When receiving a notification from the DNA information comparison part211 that information regarding a suspect is registered in the DNAdatabase 20, the suspect information generation part 214 incorporatesall or some of the personal identification information in the registeredinformation received along with the notification into the suspectinformation, and hands the information over to the output part 203. Inother words, when an entry in the registered DNA information matchingthe repeat numbers of each locus included in the suspect DNA informationis registered in the DNA database 20, the suspect information generationpart 214 uses the personal identification information of the personhaving the DNA information matching the suspect DNA information togenerate the suspect information. Specifically, the suspect informationgeneration part 214 deems the person associated with the registered DNAinformation matching the suspect DNA information to be a suspect andgenerates the suspect information from his or her registered information(personal identification information: full name, birth date, etc.).

When obtaining the blood-relative list (including information regardingsimilar facial images) from the similar image search part 213, thesuspect information generation part 214 generates the suspectinformation on the basis of this blood-relative list. Specifically, thesuspect information generation part 214 searches for an entry on theobtained blood-relative list having a similar facial image. Then thesuspect information generation part 214 generates the suspectinformation by associating, for instance, a sample ID to be processed,the facial image ID of this searched and retrieved entry, and all orsome of the personal identification information relating theregistration ID of the retrieved entry.

For instance, if obtaining the blood-relative list shown in FIG. 14 ,the suspect information generation part 214 generates the suspectinformation by associating “Facial Image ID=FI04” in the second entryfrom the top, the personal identification information obtainable from“Registration ID=R05,” and “Presumed Relationship” on the blood-relativelist (refer to FIG. 15 ).

The suspect information generation part 214 hands over the generatedsuspect information to the output part 203.

The output part 203 outputs the suspect information to the outside. Forinstance, the output part 203 displays the suspect information on adisplay device. Alternatively, the output part 203 may output datarelating to the suspect information to a printing device and instructthe device to print the data. Furthermore, the output part 203 mayoutput the suspect information via the NIC 14 to a terminal or serverconnected to a network.

The operation of the information processing apparatus 10 relating to thefirst exemplary embodiment is summarized in a flowchart shown in FIG. 16.

In step S01, the input part 201 receives the suspect DNA information andthe facial image information.

In step S02, the DNA information processing part 202 obtains theregistered information by accessing the DNA database 20.

In step S03, the DNA information processing part 211 determines whetheror not any registered DNA information in the obtained registeredinformation matches the suspect DNA information. If registered DNAinformation matching the suspect DNA information exists in the obtainedregistered information (Yes in the step S03), the operation goes to stepS06. If no registered DNA information in the obtained registeredinformation matches the suspect DNA information (No in the step S03),the operation goes to step S04.

In the step S04, the blood-relative list generation part 212 determinesif the suspect DNA information matches the registered DNA informationand identifies persons presumed to be blood relatives of the suspectamong a plurality of persons registered in the DNA database 20(generating a blood-relative list).

In step S05, the similar image search part 213 calculates the degree ofsimilarity between each facial image included in the facial imageinformation and facial images derived from the blood-relative list, andsearches for facial images (similar facial images) resembling the facialimages of persons on the blood-relative list.

In the step S06, the suspect information generation part 214 generatesthe suspect information on the basis of information obtained from theDNA information comparison part 211 or the similar image search part213.

In step S07, the output part 203 outputs the suspect information to theoutside. In other words, the output part 203 provides the investigatorswith the suspect information useful for criminal investigation.

Further, the blood-relative list generation part 212 detects personspresumed to be blood relatives of the offender, and persons unrelated tothe offender (persons who are not relatives) may be detected. However,for instance, in a case where 10 kinds of repeat numbers exist for alocus, 36 percent of persons registered in the DNA database 20 will bedetermined to match the criminal as far as this locus is concerned. Asshown in FIG. 17 , conceptually, each person is classified in any one of100 squares, and when the offender has Types 1 and 3 repeat numbers,persons classified in the 36 shaded squares are determined to match theoffender. Here, with an assumption that 10 kinds of repeat numbers existfor each of 20 loci, the possibility of a judgment that all the locimatch is 0.3620=1.33×10−9, and it is very unlikely that any personunrelated to the offender will be detected as a “parent” or “offspring”of the offender.

As described, upon receiving as a processing request the DNA informationof a sample taken at a crime scene, the information processing apparatus10 relating to the first exemplary embodiment determines whether or notthis DNA information (the suspect DNA information) matches the DNAinformation registered in the DNA database 20 and extrapolates a bloodrelative of the suspect. Further, the information processing apparatus10 performs the facial image similarity judgment between the facialimages of persons shot by security cameras installed at and around thecrime scene and the presumed blood relative, and if any personresembling the presumed blood relative is detected, the informationprocessing apparatus 10 selects the detected person as a highlysuspicious person. As a result, the information processing apparatus 10can contribute to a criminal investigation in terms of narrowing downsuspects on the basis of DNA information of the offender left at thecrime scene since a highly suspicious person is selected from those whowere at and around the crime scene.

It should be noted that the configuration of the suspect informationoutput system (FIG. 2 ) described in the exemplary embodiment above isan example and the system configuration is not limited thereto. Forinstance, the information processing apparatus 10 may extract facialimages to be included in the facial image information instead of havinganother apparatus do it. In this case, the investigator provides videodata obtained from security cameras to the information processingapparatus 10. Further, when the information processing apparatus 10extracts facial images, the geometric transformation described above maybe performed when the facial images are extracted and the geometrictransformation processing thereafter (image normalization processing)may be omitted.

Alternatively, the information processing apparatus 10 may delegate theprocessing relating to the suspect's blood relatives and the processingof searching for a similar image to an external apparatus. For instance,the DNA database 20 may have the functions of the blood-relative listgeneration part 212 implemented therein, and the information processingapparatus 10 may be notified of a blood-relative list when the suspectDNA information is provided to the DNA database 20.

Alternatively, the information processing apparatus 10 may obtain theregistered information from an internal storage device in addition to anexternal apparatus such as the DNA database 20. Further, the databaseaccessed by the information processing apparatus 10 is not limited to asingle database or domestic databases, and databases created by overseasinvestigative authorities may be used.

In the exemplary embodiment described above, parents, offspring,grandparents, siblings, and grandchildren are extrapolated as bloodrelatives of a suspect, however, extrapolated relatives may be enlargedby adjusting the threshold value of the threshold processing on thedegree of similarity (to great-grandchildren).

The credibility of presumed relatives and retrieved similar images isnot mentioned in the exemplary embodiment described above, however, thereliability of these pieces of information may be generated andreflected in the suspect information.

A single similar facial image is retrieved from a single blood-relativelist in the exemplary embodiment described above, however, it stands toreason that a plurality of similar facial images can be retrieved from asingle blood-relative list. In other words, a plurality of suspects canbe provided from a single sample.

The facial image in the facial image information (the facial image of asuspect) is included in the suspect information in the exemplaryembodiment described above, however, a facial image obtained from theDNA database 20 (the facial image of a blood relative) may be includedin the suspect information as well. In this case, the investigator caneasily compare the facial image of the suspect with that of a bloodrelative and more useful information can be provided.

In the exemplary embodiment described above, the suspect DNA informationobtained from a single sample is provided to the information processingapparatus 10, and the suspect information corresponding to this suspectDNA information is outputted from the information processing apparatus10. Therefore, when bloodstains from a plurality of persons are taken ata crime scene, the suspect DNA information obtained from each sample issupplied to the information processing apparatus 10 and correspondingsuspect information can be obtained. Alternatively, a plurality ofpieces of the suspect DNA information may be supplied to the informationprocessing apparatus 10 at once and corresponding pieces of the suspectinformation may be outputted.

Further, it becomes possible to implement a method for generatingsuspect information (suspect information generation method) used in acriminal investigation using a computer by having the computer executethe computer program described above.

Further, a plurality of processes (steps) are described in order in theflowcharts used in the description above, however, the execution orderof the steps performed in the exemplary embodiment is not limited to theorder in the description. The order of the steps shown in the drawingsmay be rearranged to an extent that the content is not changed. Forinstance, multiple processes may be performed simultaneously.

The exemplary embodiment above can be summarized as follows withoutbeing limited thereto.

[Mode 1]

As the information processing apparatus relating to the first aspect.

[Mode 2]

The information processing apparatus according to Mode 1, wherein

the DNA information includes the number of short tandem repeats in amicrosatellite used for DNA identification, and

the blood-relative list generation part determines if the loci ofmicrosatellites included in the DNA information of the suspect match thecorresponding loci in the DNA information registered in the database andidentifies DNA information of a person presumed to be a blood relativeof the suspect according to the ratio of loci determined to match thecorresponding loci to the total number of loci on which the matchingjudgment was performed.[Mode 3]The information processing apparatus according to Mode 2, whereinthe blood-relative list generation part infers the relationship betweena person presumed to be a blood relative and a suspect by performingthreshold processing on the ratio of loci determined to match thecorresponding loci to the total number of loci on which the matchingjudgment was performed.[Mode 4]The information processing apparatus according to any one of Mode 1 to3, wherein personal identification information including a facial imageand DNA information are registered for each of a plurality of persons inthe database.[Mode 5]The information processing apparatus according to Mode 4, whereinthe suspect information generation part uses the personal identificationinformation of a person having DNA information matching DNA informationof the suspect to generate the suspect information when the DNAinformation matching the DNA information of the suspect is registered inthe database.[Mode 6]The information processing apparatus according to Mode 4 or 5, whereinthe similar image search part calculates the degree of similarity from afeature vector characterizing the facial images registered in thedatabase and another feature vector characterizing the facial imagesincluded in the facial image information.[Mode 7]The information processing apparatus according to Mode 6, whereinthe similar image search part calculates Euclidean distance orchi-squared distance as the degree of similarity.[Mode 8]As the suspect information generation method relating to the secondaspect.[Mode 9]As the program relating to the third aspect.Further, Modes 8 and 9 can be developed into Modes 2 to 7 like Mode 1.

Further, the disclosure of each Patent Literature cited above isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto. It should benoted that other objects, features and aspects of the present inventionwill become apparent in the entire disclosure and that modifications maybe done without departing the gist and scope of the present invention asdisclosed herein and claimed as appended herewith. Also it should benoted that any combination of the disclosed and/or claimed elements,matters and/or items may fall under the modifications. Particularly, theranges of the numerical values used in the present description should beinterpreted as a numeric value or small range example included in theseranges even in cases where no explanation is provided.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus,comprising: at least one memory storing instructions; and at least oneprocessor configured to execute the instructions to: acquire input DNAinformation of a target person; acquire person images including at leastone facial region; identify DNA information of persons presumed to be ablood relative of the target person from a database including, for eachregistered person of a plurality of registered persons, a plurality ofpieces of registered DNA information of the registered person, a facialimage of the registered person, and the ethnic information of theregistered person; after identifying the DNA information of the personspresumed to be the blood relative of the target person from thedatabase, acquire, from the database, ethnic information and facialimages of the persons presumed to be the blood relative; extract featurepoints from the acquired facial images and feature points from theacquired person images; compare the feature points extracted from theacquired facial images with the feature points extracted from the personimages, yielding a comparison result identify the acquired person imageshaving faces similar to faces in the acquired facial images based on thecomparison result; and output the acquired ethnic information and theacquired person facial images that have been identified as having thefaces similar to the faces in the acquired facial images.
 2. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:information to be output indicates a reliability of blood relationshipbetween the target person and the blood relative of the target person.3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe input DNA information and the registered DNA information include DNAsequence information used for DNA identification, and the processor isidentify the DNA information of the persons presumed to be the bloodrelative of the target person by executing a matching judgement betweenloci of a microsatellite included in the input DNA information andcorresponding loci of the registered DNA information of each registeredperson, and select the registered DNA information of each registeredperson according to a loci ratio that has been determined to match theloci subjected to the matching judgement.
 4. The information processingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor selects relativeDNA information by executing information processing on the loci ratiothat has been determined to match the loci subjected to the matchingjudgement.
 5. An information processing method, comprising: acquiringinput DNA information which is DNA information of a target person;acquiring person images including at least one facial region;identifying DNA information of persons presumed to be a blood relativeof the target person from a database including, for each registeredperson of a plurality of registered persons, a plurality of pieces ofregistered DNA information of the registered person, a facial image ofthe registered person, and the ethnic information of the registeredperson; after identifying the DNA information of the persons presumed tobe the blood relative of the target person from the database, acquiring,from the database, ethnic information and facial images of the personspresumed to be the blood relative; extracting feature points from theacquired facial images and feature points from the acquired personimages; comparing the feature points extracted from the acquired facialimages with the feature points extracted from the person images,yielding a comparison result; identifying the acquired person imageshaving faces similar to faces in the acquired facial images based on thecomparison result; and outputting the acquired ethnic information andthe acquired person facial images that have been identified as havingthe faces similar to the faces in the acquired facial images.
 6. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a programhaving a computer execute processing comprising: acquiring input DNAinformation which is DNA information of a target person; acquiringperson images including at least one facial region; identifying DNAinformation of persons presumed to be a blood relative of the targetperson from a database including, for each registered person of aplurality of registered persons, a plurality of pieces of registered DNAinformation of the registered person, a facial image of the registeredperson, and the ethnic information of the registered person; afteridentifying the DNA information of the persons presumed to be the bloodrelative of the target person from the database, acquiring, from thedatabase, ethnic information and facial images of the persons presumedto be the blood relative; extracting feature points from the acquiredfacial images and feature points from the acquired person images;comparing the feature points extracted from the acquired facial imageswith the feature points extracted from the person images, yielding acomparison result; identifying the acquired person images having facessimilar to faces in the acquired facial images based on the comparisonresult; and outputting the acquired ethnic information and the acquiredperson facial images that have been identified as having the facessimilar to the faces in the acquired facial images.
 7. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to output a blood-relative list that includes a bloodrelationship between the target person and the blood relative of thetarget person.